Damascus disincorporation petition challenged in court

The wording of a ballot title to disincorporate Damascus has been contested by a resident worried about losing local control and city assets. The challenge questions whether the city can legally disincorporate.

Supporters of dissolving the city dismissed the challenge as a stall tactic. The challenger, Dan Phegley, called the ballot title misleading. A judge will look at his proposed wording and the original wording to decide what should go to voters in November.

Last month residents filed a petition to disincorporate the city. If they gather about 300 signatures, the question will be put to the city's voters in November. On Wednesday Phegley, the leader of the political action group Ask Damascus, filed a challenge to the ballot title.

In court documents, Phegley questioned whether the city was legally able to disincorporate. Last week, the city council voted to give the city manager, Greg Baker, a more than $250,000 severance package if the city disincorporates. State law dictates only cities without debt or financial obligations can disincorporate. Phegley said this might mean Damascus can't.

"This is nothing but a stall tactic, and a way to try to discredit the effort," said David Jothen, a resident who is helping petition to disincorporate the city.

In court documents, Phegley contested each aspect of the ballot title: the title, question and summary. He wanted to put more focus on the city's assets going to the county.

Currently, the summary of the title states that the signers would like to dissolve the city, that the city would return to the county jurisdiction and that the city's $3.88 per thousand of assessed value tax would be eliminated.

Phegley's wording adds that the city might not legally be able to disincorporate, that the city would lose all its assets, its property rights and all city services.

"I think people need to know what they're voting on. The ballot title is extremely unclear – even to the point of misleading," Phegley said. "They don't mention that we will lose local control and we will be governed by the county and Metro."

The people who support disincorporation have argued that the city has done little with taxpayer money since it incorporated in 2004 and that it would be better to dissolve the city and stop paying the local taxes. Damascus incorporated after Metro brought it into the urban growth boundary. Its residents wanted to be able to make their own decisions about where growth would happen. One of the men who filed for disincorporation, Wally Bothum, said he was not surprised that Phegley challenged the title.

"I wish they wouldn't have done it; it would be easier, but that's how they operate. I'm not surprised. I can't tell you what they're objective is. They don't have a plan. They just want to throw monkey wrenches into things," Bothum said of Ask Damascus and Phegley.

A judge will now look at the two versions of the ballot title. That judge could decide to use the original, the new one or a combination of the two.